December 2007

Can you believe we’re looking at another Christmas already? Where did this year ever go? It seems just like yesterday, Angela was pulling Roxie out of her Christmas stocking! Well, this year certainly had been very exciting and rewarding. I’ve had the opportunity to travel and meet so many of you face to face, I’ve held columns in Siempre Mujer magazine in Spanish and Everyday With Rachael Ray in English, and I’ve even written a radio play with celebrated author Esmeralda Santiago called La Parranda, which will be recorded and played on Christmas Day on NPR!
Well, ’tis the season, and with that comes greetings, decorating and hopefully, a bit of entertaining. There’s no time of the year that showcases family recipes and parties more than Christmas in my opinion.
So break out the pernils, people, and if you have any juice in Puerto Rico, maybe they can hook you up with some fresh gandules! The traditional Noche Buena meal is of course the featured recipes, and if you are so inclined, make sure that you stop by Boriqua Blog for the Pasteles tutorial I did (or type Pasteles in the Search box at Blog), and don’t forget the Coquito!
I’ll be celebrating Christmas in Buenos Aires this year with my family and my friend Paul Scharff and his lovely wife, Paula, and her family. They are hosting us for Noche Buena dinner, and we have plans to visit Estaciones where we are treated to wonderful parrillada in the country!

Chopping down theChristmas tree

Chopping down the Christmas tree

I am very excited to be visiting Argentina, and plan to take a lot of pictures and eat a lot of meat! Hopefully, I’ll be able to find recipes for sides and salads to go with all that wonderful grilled meat. This might actually be the last “family” Christmas trip we take because the boys are getting old enough to have their own plans, so I’m hoping to make it a great one! I’m all about all the hokiness of the holidays; I’ve always believed in creating memories for my children, so we always ride up to a tree farm in Connecticut and chop down our tree (complete with tail gate party!). This has been an event that we have always looked forward to, and then we invite family and friends to come over and help us decorate it. It has become a time treasured tradition.
Another of my favorite traditions, is sending out Christmas cards, and I love to receive greetings, too, so I’m going to set up this little Widget, so you can leave holiday greetings here, or head over to blog and leave me a post there! Either way, I will love to hear from you.

In closing, let me wish you all a happy, healthy, and safe holiday season spent with family and friends, creating warm memories that will last a lifetime. The flip side of “an ending” is a “beginning” and I’m very excited at the projects that are shaping up for 2008. Along with my resolutions, I am very thrilled about the direction that the Daisy “train” is headed, and hope to make a few really awesome announcements soon! So, thank you 2007, for all the lessons, new friends, and great food that you brought with it, and welcome 2008! I greet you with anticipation, optimism, and excitement with open arms!